1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of electronic devices and systems. More particularly, the present invention is in the field of delivery of power to electronic devices and systems.
2. Background Art
The use of battery operated electronic devices continues to proliferate into all aspects of daily life, from the commonplace laptop to all the innovative accessories designed for convenient use of portable electronic devices. As demand for these devices has expanded, so has the demand for higher reliability, efficiency and convenience with respect to both the manufacturing and the operating life of the devices.
Conventional power supplies used to charge battery operated electronic devices are typically inefficient and unconfigurable, mainly to reduce manufacturing cost, but also because general safety and liability concerns steer manufacturers towards designing their power supplies to be physically differentiated from product to product so as to limit the risk of damage due to incompatible voltage and current specifications. Because each matched power supply is typically designed to serve only a very limited market for a limited amount of time (e.g., the life of a single product), little effort is invested into designing high efficiency and reliability into each iteration of the generic power supply. Further, the lack of interchangeability typically leads to consumers having multiple collections of conventional power supplies at home, at work, and even in their car, for example.
Thus, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a charging system that can be readily adapted to charge electronic devices efficiently, reliably and conveniently.